Wake of the Red Witch

the long version

A romance of the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), as recounted by Sam Rosen, partner of the strange Captain Ralls. Ralls was the one time Captain of the Red Witch, the great sailing ship that Ralls sent to the ocean bottom with a vast treasure aboard her. Part of the story is told in a series of flashbacks which give the roots of the quarrel between Ralls and Mayrant Sidneye, the Red Witch's owner. Sidneye wants revenge and the gold, while Ralls has plans of his own. The two villains (or heroes?) pit their wits against each other, with far more than money at stake. The book kept me enthralled from start to finish.